| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Fisherman's Luck by Henry van Dyke: blessings which are scattered along the by-ways of life, then,
sometimes by a special mercy, a small sample of them is quietly laid
before you so that you cannot help seeing it, and it brings you back
to a sense of the joyful possibilities of living.
How full of enjoyment is the search after wild things,--wild birds,
wild flowers, wild honey, wild berries! There was a country club on
Storm King Mountain, above the Hudson River, where they used to
celebrate a festival of flowers every spring. Men and women who had
conservatories of their own, full of rare plants and costly orchids,
came together to admire the gathered blossoms of the woodlands and
meadows. But the people who had the best of the entertainment were
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay: hideous monster, of the size of a pony, but resembling in shape - if
it resembled anything - a sea crustacean; and then he came to a halt.
They stared at one another, the beast with wicked eyes, Maskull with
cool and wary ones. While he was staring, a singular thing happened
to him.
His eyes blurred again. But when in a minute or two this blurring
passed away and he saw clearly once more, his vision had changed in
character. He was looking right through the animal's body and could
distinguish all its interior parts. The outer crust, however, and
all the hard tissues were misty and semi-transparent; through them a
luminous network of blood-red veins and arteries stood out in
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Secret Places of the Heart by H. G. Wells: poured across the old man's mind, behind the still mask of
his face. It infuriated him even to think of V.V., his little
V.V., his own girl, entertaining a lover, being possibly--
most shameful thought--IN LOVE! Like some ordinary silly
female, sinking to kisses, to the deeds one could buy and pay
for. His V.V.! The idea infuriated and disgusted him. He
fought against it as a possibility. Once some woman in New
York had ventured to hint something to him of some fellow,
some affair with an artist, Caston; she had linked this
Caston with V.V.'s red cross nursing in Europe. . . . Old
Grammont had made that woman sorry she spoke. Afterwards he
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The fourth excerpt represents the element of Earth. It speaks of physical influences and the impact of the unseen on the visible world, and is drawn from Almayer's Folly by Joseph Conrad: jests pass with stolid unconcern. She heard many tales told
around her of far-off countries, of strange customs, of events
stranger still. Those men were brave; but the most fearless of
them spoke of their chief with fear. Often the man they called
their master passed before her, walking erect and indifferent, in
the pride of youth, in the flash of rich dress, with a tinkle of
gold ornaments, while everybody stood aside watching anxiously
for a movement of his lips, ready to do his bidding. Then all
her life seemed to rush into her eyes, and from under her veil
she gazed at him, charmed, yet fearful to attract attention. One
day he noticed her and asked, "Who is that girl?" "A slave,
Almayer's Folly |
